Parents

August 22, 2013

Fort Worth schools has launched a back to school page on their website that includes enrollment forms, a downloadable calendar and other key details for students to get ready for classes on Monday.

Web page: The back to school web page is here. Click here for Spanish. The page includes information on how to find out where a child is to attend school, contact information for campuses and information on needed school supplies, dress code and lunch.

Practice bus runs: Parents and students can participate in a practice bus run from their school bus stop on Friday morning. Fort Worth ISD buses will run on the same time schedule as a regular school day.

Fort Worth schools students can ride the bus if they live two or more miles away from their home school, or if they are enrolled in a Gold Seal program/school of choice or special education program.

School start times in Fort Worth ISD:

Elementary school: 8 a.m.

Middle school: 9:20 a.m.

High schools: 8:35 a.m.

Check back to this blog post today as more back to school details emerge.

April 26, 2013

Update: the service is scheduled to include remarks from schools officials and students as well as a song by children. The location is: Trinity Building, fourth floor, TRTR 4202. Here's a link for a map.

Friends, family and coworkers will gather on Sunday to remember Pamela Hsiu Lo Day, principal at Nash Elementary School in Fort Worth, who passed away on April 7. She was 62.

The family is hosting a public memorial service from 1 to 3 p.m. on April 28 in the auditorium of the Tarrant County College's Trinity River Campus in downtown Fort Worth, according to a school district news release.

Mrs. Day was Nash Elementary School principal for 13 years and previously was principal at Sam Rosen Elementary, assistant principal at Manuel Jara Elementary and also taught at Diamond Hill Elementary. She worked at Fort Worth ISD for 23 years. Here's a photo gallery on the Fort Worth ISD's website of an April 11 candlelight vigil in her memory.

Here's more about Mrs. Day's work at Nash Elementary: "During that time, she came to think of the staff and the faculty as family, and the kids in the school as an extension of her own family. She cared deeply for the welfare and well-being of her students and her teachers. Nash achieved exemplary status during statewide accountability reports several times during her tenure, and she always put the credit on her teachers' and students' shoulders, saying that she was merely a guide to help them find their way," the obituary states. "Pamela loved practical jokes, and her staff at Nash Elementary was often on the receiving end."

"At times like these, we need to all pull together to help support our neighbors. Our thoughts and prayers go out the victims and their families in West, Texas. We are hopeful the supplies and relief aid we bring next Friday will help ease the burden of losing a loved one."

Donations can be dropped off at these Childrens Lighthouse childcare centers:

March 25, 2013

To find the mobile app:It is a free download for smart phones and tablets on Apple’s App Store and Google Play Store. Users can search for “Fort Worth ISD” to find the app, located in the education category. Developed by Parlant Technology Inc., the app has a red icon with a white apple.

The app has been downloaded 690 times since January, including 456 times since it was announced on Monday, officials said Wednesday afternoon.

The app is available in 70 languages and folks can access the district's social media sites and lunch money accounts, make a report to the safety and security office, find school phone numbers and check sports scores. The district will also use the app for school and district updates and news and will send voice messages to parents, who can access them when it is convenient, rather than being interrupted by a phone call, said Clint Bond, director of external and emergency communications.

"We are extremely excited to be deploying this mobile app," Walter Dansby, Fort Worth schools superintendent, said in a Monday news release. "It's so important that we can communicate effectively when there is an emergency. But it is even more important that we can communicate with our parents about the progress of their children in school. Our new mobile app puts the facts right into the hands of people who need it the most ... our parents."

Four billboards touting the Fort Worth school district's District Walk are going up next month.

The school district on Monday was given a $15,000 donation to help pay for and publicize the annual walk, scheduled for May 11. Participants will meet at athletic tracks at Fort Worth ISD high schools and walk. The event is 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.

The Humana Foundation's donation will pay to buy water, water bottles, t-shirts and other expenses. It will also cover the costs of four billboards.

February 18, 2013

A Fort Worth school district senior will have the chance to use their ability to turn a phrase into the turn of the wheel of a new car.

In the second annual Words for Wheels essay contest, students are writing up to 1,000 words on this topic: "In the future, how do you plan on using technology to promote and help your community?" The pieces will be judged on originality, clarity of message and presentation, according to a news release from Frank Kent Honda.

Starting this week, students will get a chance to check out the model as it makes stops at various Fort Worth high schools.

The contest is a partnership between Frank Kent Honda, Fort
Worth schools and the City of Fort Worth. Graduating seniors have the chance to win a 2013 Honda Civic LX coupe or
sedan - and they can pick the color. The EECU will cover the cost of tax, title and license fees on the vehicle.

The deadline is March 17. The winner will be presented with the car at the Fort Worth-based dealership on April 29. The contest was created by Frank Kent Honda co-owners Will Churchill and Corrie Watson, graduates of Arlington Heights High School.

The deal still must still be considered by the Tarrant County Commissioner's Court, which is expected to take up the matter at a meeting scheduled for Feb. 26, a school district spokeswoman said. If both parties approve, officials hope to be done with renovations and ready to move into the new building in time for the fall 2013 semester.

The school opened in August 2010 in a converted building on West Magnolia Avenue that served as the school district's adult education center. Officials are adding one grade per year. This year, there are students in grades seven through 10.

Schools trustees agreed to go forward with a new system to replace the current Connects system. The aim is to have the new system by Florida-based Focus School Software in place by the fall for the 2013-2014 school year, according to a news release on the school district's website. The teams are scheduled to attend an orientation session and an online webinar in February.

Schools officials agreed to change vendors after a series of problems with the Connects student data software
system that produced inaccurate transcripts, incomplete grade reports
and incorrect attendance records.

The Connects system, by Tyler Technologies, was launched in 2010 and reports soon after began emerging of problems including inaccurate student schedules and disappearing grades.

The Focus system was chosen after "district stakeholders and end-users spent several months interviewing, visiting and evaluating products submitted by top vendors," the release said. The school district also worked with the Center for Educational Leadership and Technology on the project.

In North Texas, KERA-13 has scheduled the episode of Independent Lens to first air at 10 p.m. on Tuesday night. (By the way, the state school board meets in Austin on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Here's the agenda).

A key player in The Revisionaries is former board president Don McLeroy, described as a "dentist, Sunday school teacher, and avowed young-earth creationist" and the 15-member state board's adoption of new science and history curriculum standards in 2010.

The show's backers say that the state board's action is important because decisions about Texas textbooks have a nationwide effect.

"Texas is one of the nation's largest textbook markets
because it is one of the few where the state decides what books schools
can buy rather than leaving it up to local districts, which means
publishers that get their books approved can count on millions of
dollars in sales. Further, publishers craft their standard textbooks
based on the requirements of the biggest buyers. As a result, the Texas
board has the power to shape the textbooks that children around the
country read for years to come," according to a post on the PBS website.

But the extent of Texas' influence on publishing has been the subject of debate. The executive director of the Association of American
Publishers' school division, Jay Diskey,
told the Star-Telegram that the idea that Texas standards will be forced on other states is "really an urban myth in the year 2010."

Former Star-Telegram reporter Traci Shurley wrote on March 20, 2010: "Over the past 15 years, he said, most states have asked or required publishers to align textbooks with their own state standards. Also, digital publishing has allowed
the industry to customize books, not only by state but also by district."